MLB roundup  Aug. 29

Thursday

Aug 30, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Wednesday’s American League results

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 5 — Yunel Esccobar hit a two-run homer, three doubles and drove in five runs as Toronto beat the host New York Yankees and ended CC Sabathia’s five years of dominance over the Blue Jays. Escobar had a go-ahead RBI double in the third. His homer against Sabathia in the sixth gave the Blue Jays the lead again and his two-run double off Joba Chamberlain in the ninth helped secure Toronto’s first series win since July 27-29.

Royals 1, Tigers 0 — Eric Hosmer’s two-out infield hit with two out in the fourth drove in the game’s only run and Bruce Chen (10-10) allowed four hits and no runs over six innings to lift the host Kansas City Royals.

White Sox 8, Orioles 1 — White Sox rookie Dylan Axelrod took a three-hitter into the eighth inning and Chicago snapped a five-game losing streak. Gordon Beckham had three hits and three RBI, and Alexei Ramirez went 3-for-4 with two RBI and scored twice for Chicago.

Twins 10, Mariners 0 — Joe Mauer had three hits and two RBI and Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe both hit a solo homer to lift the host Minnesota Twins.

Wednesday’s National League results

Dodgers 10, Rockies 8 — Joe Blanton pitched effectively into the eighth inning for his first win with the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers and A.J. Ellis hit his first career grand slam. Hanley Ramirez also homered in his second consecutive game to help the Dodgers withstand a late rally that saw Colorado score seven runs in the eighth inning.

Reds 6, Diamondbacks 2 — Chris Heisey hit two of Cincinnati’s four home runs, including the tying two-run shot in the seventh inning, to rally the Reds over the Arizona Diamondbacks, who suffered their sixth consecutive home loss. Dioner Navarro’s solo shot two batters after Heisey’s first blast put Cincinnati ahead, Brandon Phillips added a two-run homer in the eighth and Heisey capped the scoring two outs later.

Padres 8, Braves 2 — With their new owners watching, Chase Headley and the host San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves to record their ninth win in 10 games. Headley hit a two-run single and left-hander Eric Stults won his fourth straight decision as the Padres took two out of three from the Braves, who lead the NL wild-card race. Stults (4-2) allowed an unearned run on five hits in six innings, struck out five and walked two.

Pirates 5, Cardinals 0 — Pedro Alvarez stayed hot, blasting his 26th homer of the season and driving in three runs to help the host Pittsburgh Pirates to move within one game of the NL’s second wild-card spot. Wandy Rodriguez (9-13) worked six innings for Pittsburgh to pick up his first win as a starter since being acquired last month.

Nationals 8, Marlins 4 — Bryce Harper homered twice for the first time in his career and the visiting Washington Nationals snapped a five-game losing streak. Harper hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and added a solo homer in the fifth, giving the rookie 14 this season.

Mets 3, Phillies 2 — Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer, Matt Harvey had a sharp outing and the visiting New York Mets recorded their fourth win in a row. Harvey (3-3) allowed two runs in 6? innings and had an RBI single.